This invention relates to transporting bicycles and more specifically to the transportation of bicycles in various sized pick-up trucks. It also relates to a device which may be installed on a pick-up truck and which effectively prevents the theft of the bicycle from the pick-up truck when the device is properly secured to the truck bed.
It is frequently the case that riders of bicycles wish to transport their bicycle from point to point in a pick-up truck before actually embarking on a bicycle journey. The transportation of bicycles in a pick-up truck is most effectively accomplished when the bicycle is securely attached to the bed of the pick-up truck. Previous bicycle carriers for pick-up trucks have consisted of a transverse member acting as a support for the bicycle itself. The support extends between the opposite side rails of a truck. The bicycle is then secured to the support by removing the front wheel of the bicycle and placing the front forks onto a circular shaft having dimensions similar to that of an axle of the front bicycle wheel. A quick-connect skewer similar to that used to hold the front wheel of a bicycle is used to clamp the front fork to the transverse support member.
The commonly used transverse support is attached to a truck by two methods. One method would be to extend the support until outward normal forces apply pressure to the opposing side rails of the truck. Another method is by attaching the transverse support member to the truck by means of screws and bolts and mounting it directly to the truck sides. This method often involves the use of opposed mounting brackets to which the transverse support member may then be attached.
Both of the methods commonly in use for securing bicycles to truck beds have a number of disadvantages. Due to the difference in the size of truck beds, at least two different sizes of transverse support member are required, one for small trucks and one for full-sized trucks. The second disadvantage involves the means for extending the support member to apply the normal outward pressure. In order to have a support which is strong enough both to hold the bicycle and to hold its position between the two truck side rails, heavy-gauged, threaded tubing or a rack and pinion extension is required. This heavy tubing or rack and pinion extension would result in much higher manufacturing costs, material costs, and shipping costs due to the added weight of the extension mechanism. The bracket method has the additional disadvantage of requiring the integrity of the side rails of the truck to be impaired due to the holes which need to be drilled into the truck rails. Both types of securing devices also require the purchase of an additional bracket which can be mounted to the main support to carry the front wheel.
It is an object of this invention to provide a means for securedly attaching the front fork of a bicycle to the truck without causing damage to the vehicle. Another object of the invention is to provide a universal carrier that can be easily manufactured, assembled, shipped and installed to any type of truck. A still further object of this invention is to provide an economical and useful carrier that cannot be removed without having the proper tools and which allows the owner of the carrier and bicycle to affirmatively lock the bicycle to the truck bed thereby reducing the likelihood of theft. Other and further objects of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following description and Specification of this invention.